Stanniocalcin-1 is induced by hypoxia inducible factor in rat alveolar epithelial cells

Abstract

Alveolar type II (ATII) cells remain differentiated and express surfactant proteins when cultured at an air-liquid (A/L) interface. When cultured under submerged conditions, ATII cells dedifferentiate and change their gene expression profile. We have previously shown that gene expression under submerged conditions is regulated by hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) signaling due to focal hypoxia resulting from ATII cell metabolism. Herein, we sought to further define gene expression changes in ATII cells cultured under submerged conditions. We performed a genome wide microarray on RNA extracted from rat ATII cells cultured under submerged conditions for 24–48 h after switching from an A/L interface. We found significant alterations in gene expression, including upregulation of the HIF target genes stanniocalcin-1 (STC1), tyrosine hydroxylase (Th), enolase (Eno) 2, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 13, and we verified upregulation of these genes by RT-PCR. Because STC1, a highly evolutionarily conserved glycoprotein with anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant, and wound healing properties, is widely expressed in the lung, we further explored the potential functions of STC1 in the alveolar epithelium. We found that STC1 was induced by hypoxia and HIF in rat ATII cells, and this induction occurred rapidly and reversibly. We also showed that recombinant human STC1 (rhSTC1) enhanced cell motility with extended lamellipodia formation in alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) monolayers but did not inhibit the oxidative damage induced by LPS. We also confirmed that STC1 was upregulated by hypoxia and HIF in human lung epithelial cells. In this study, we have found that several HIF target genes including STC1 are upregulated in AECs by a submerged condition, that STC1 is regulated by hypoxia and HIF, that this regulation is rapidly and reversibly, and that STC1 enhances wound healing moderately in AEC monolayers. However, STC1 did not inhibit oxidative damage in rat AECs stimulated by LPS in vitro. Therefore, alterations in gene expression by ATII cells under submerged conditions including STC1 were largely induced by hypoxia and HIF, which may be relevant to our understanding of the pathogenesis of various lung diseases in which the alveolar epithelium is exposed to relative hypoxia.

Stanniocalcin 1 is a prognostic biomarker in glioma

“…Using an ischemic mouse model, Durukan et al (34) revealed that STC1 was elevated under hypoxic condition and it was proven that STC1 was dispensable for functional recovery after ischemic stroke. Moreover, hypoxic conditions can induce the expression of STC1, and high expression of STC1 can enhance neuronal resistance to hypoxia (35). It has been demonstrated that hypoxic microenvironments are common in glioma tissues (35).…”

Inhibition of calcium uptake during hypoxia in developing zebrafish, Danio rerio, is mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor

“…Both stc-1 and ct were found to be expressed before 1 dpf, and continued to be expressed over development (Lafont et al, 2011;Tseng et al, 2009). Hypoxic treatment was reported to stimulate STC-1 mRNA and/or protein levels in various mammalian cell lines (Ito et al, 2014;Yeung et al, 2005). Additionally, we identified a putative hypoxia-regulatory element (HRE) in the upstream region of the stc-1 gene (data not shown).…”

Mechanosensitive regulation of stanniocalcin-1 by zyxin and actin-myosin in human mesenchymal stromal cells

“…STC1 expression has also been shown to be influenced by hypoxia. [2][3][4] Hypoxia can also change actin organization, 51 increase focal adhesions, 51 and activate RhoA and ROCK signaling. 52 Whether the change in STC1 expression under hypoxia is regulated through the same zyxin and actin-myosin dependent pathway as described here remains to be investigated.…”

“…Lentivirus was produced in human embryonic kidney 293FT (HEK) cells.HEK cells were seeded at 60 000 cells/cm2 in a 10-cm TCP dish in DMEM + 10% FBS. HEK cells were transfected with pMDLg pRRE, pMD2.G, pRSV Rev (Addgene), and one of the pLKO.1 shRNA plasmids using lipofectamine 2000 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) in a ratio of 5:1 (μL lipofectamine 2000:μg DNA) 24 hours after seeding.…”